All articles by antonica jones
antonica jones
Digital distribution: mobile platforms and tech spending
Technology is integral to the travel experience, and operators have enhanced their mobile platforms to better connect with their guests, working hard to get to grips with today’s complex distribution landscape. Elly Earls speaks to Marriott’s Osama Hirzalla, IHG’s Apurva Pratap and Mövenpick’s Paul Mulcahy to discuss where tech spending has been focused in 2015 and how priorities might shift in the year ahead.
Time for Turkey: the tourism boom
High levels of investment in tourism and a move to develop cities outside the country’s capital means the Turkish hospitality sector is booming. Patrick Kingsland looks at who’s investing in this European destination and why.
Europe hotel overview
With the end of 2015 in sight, Hotel Management International associate partner STR Global surveys the European hospitality market and highlights the areas to keep an eye on going into 2016.
Secure the future: security systems
New security technologies have the potential to enhance the safety and overall experience of guests, but effectively choosing and applying the right systems requires careful forethought. Security managers from London’s top hotels congregated in Mayfair for a Hotel Management International Dining Club, held in partnership with video surveillance leader Hikvision. Darren Carter, head of group security at Edwardian Group, led discussion on some of the latest innovations helping to keep guests and staff safe in today’s challenging environment.
Every trick in the book: online booking engines
Online booking engines have gone from being a boon to the bane of the hospitality industry. EHMA president Hans Koch discusses the problem and ponders how operators can wrest back control of room booking.
Growth experience: The Insider with Carlos Khneisser
Carlos Khneisser has been vice-president of development Middle East at Hilton Worldwide for six years, overseeing the company’s growth during one of the most turbulent periods in the region’s history – and Egypt has been a key focus.
Europe on the up: IHG’s Angela Brav targets continental expansion
In her four years as IHG’s chief executive for Europe, Angela Brav has demonstrated a willingness to gamble. The American native talks to Phin Foster about targeting key markets, providing clarity and why European strength is the only way to truly make one’s global brands shine.
Amid the rouble: the Russian market
For years Russia was described as the most exciting region in Europe for hotel operators and developers looking to quickly expand their pipelines. But with an intractable conflict in Ukraine and an economic crisis hitting the Russian economy, is the market as attractive as it once was? Patrick Kingsland investigates.
Russia revs up for football fever
Tourism in today’s Russia is primarily business related. International and local hotel chains are continuously planning new projects to increase capacity as the country prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018. Noppen’s Third Annual Russia Hotel Expansion Summit provided a platform for players in the hospitality industry to come together and share ideas.
Budapest hosts hospitality summit
The Leaders in Hospitality CEE and CIS Summit once again promotes regional collaboration among top hoteliers.